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Cooling Tower PDF
Cooling Tower PDF
AIM: To simulate an industrial cooling tower and study its performance based on
The cooling load
Approach to wet bulb
DESCRIPTION :
The Bench Top Cooling Tower behaves in a similar manner and has similar components to a full size
cooling tower and may be used to introduce students to their characteristics and construction.
Water Circuit:
Warm water is pumped from the load tank through the control valve and water flow meter to the column cap. After
its’ temperature is measured (t5), the water is uniformly distributed over the top packing deck and, as it spreads over
the plates, a large thin film of water is exposed to the air stream. During its downward passage through the packing,
the water is cooled, largely by the evaporation of a small portion of the total flow.
The cooled water falls from the lowest packing deck into the basin, where its temperature (t6) is again measured and
then passes into the load tank where it is re-heated before re-circulation. Due to evaporation, the level of the water in
the load tank tends to fall. This causes the float operated needle valve to open and transfer water from the make-up
tank into the load tank. Under steady conditions, the rate at which the water leaves the make-up tank is equal to the
rate of evaporation plus any small airborne droplets in the air discharge.
Air Circuit :
Air from the atmosphere(with temperature t7), enters the fan at a rate which is controlled by the intake damper setting.
The fan discharges into the distribution chamber and the air passes wet and dry bulb sensors (which measure the
temperature t2 and t1 respectively) before entering the packed column. As the air flows through the packings, its’
moisture content increases and the water is cooled. On leaving the top of the column the air passes through the
droplet arrester, which traps most of the entrained droplets and returns them to the packings. The air is then
discharged to the atmosphere via the air measuring orifice and further wet and dry bulb sensors (which measure the
temperature t4 and t3 respectively).
Droplets of water (resulting from splashing, etc.) may become entrained in the air stream and then lost from the
system. This loss does not contribute to the cooling, but must be made good by "make-up" water. To minimize this
loss, a "droplet arrester", or "eliminator" is fitted at the tower outlet. This component causes droplets to coalesce,
forming drops which are too large to be entrained and these fall back into the packings.
Under the action of the fan, air is driven upward through the wet packings. It will be seen that the change of dry bulb
temperature is smaller than the change of wet bulb temperature, and that at air outlet there is little difference between
wet and dry bulb temperatures. This indicates that the air leaving is almost saturated, i.e. Relative Humidity - 100%.
This increase in the moisture content of the air is due to the conversion of water into steam and the "latent heat" for
this accounts for most of the cooling effect. If the cooling load is now switched off and the unit allowed to stabilise, it
will be found that the water will leave the basin close to the wet bulb temperature of the air entering. According to the
local atmospheric conditions, this can be several degrees below the incoming air (dry bulb) temperature. With no
load, the water would be cooled to the incoming wet bulb temperature, but this condition cannot be attained since the
pump transfers about 100W to the water.
Flow through the column may be observed through the transparent casing.
Three sets of different packings, each in its own casing, are available. These may be interchanged quickly and without
using tools.
1. Orifice Constant:
. x x
ma = 0.0137 = 0.0137
vB (1 B )vaB
A B C
Number of Decks 8 8 8
Number of Plates per Deck 7 10 18
Total Surface Area of Packing m2 0.83 1.19 2.16
Height of Packing m 0.48 0.48 0.48
Packing "Density" Area/Vol m ֿ ◌¹ 77 110 200
6. Temperatures
t1 Dry bulb temperature of air entering base of column
t2 Wet bulb temperature of air entering base of column
t3 Dry bulb temperature of air at exit from column
t4 Wet bulb temperature of air at exit from column
t5 Water temperature on entering column
t6 Water temperature on leaving column
t7 Water in make-up tank
SPECIFICATION :
Base Unit: All components are mounted on a robust G.R.P. base plate with integral instrument panel. Components
include: (i) Air distribution chamber.
(ii) A tank with heaters to simulate cooling loads of 0.5, 1.0 and
1.5kW.
(iii) A make-up tank with gauge mark and float operated control
valve.
(iv) A centrifugal fan with intake damper to give 0.06kg s ֿ ◌¹ max.
air flow.
(v) A bronze and stainless steel glandless pump.
(vi) A water collecting basin.
(vii) An electrical control panel.
Packed Column : Four packed columns (A, B, C and D), each 150mm x 150mm x 600mm high, and fabricated from
clear P.V.C., are available.Columns A, B and C have pressure tapping points and each contain eight decks of
inclined, wettable, laminated plastic plates, retained by water distribution troughs.
Column A has 7 plates per deck (giving 77m² per m³)
Column B has 10 plates per deck (giving 110m² per m³)
Column C has 18 plates per deck (giving 200m² per m³)
Column D has no packings.
Column Cap: This fits on top of the chosen column and includes:
(i) An 80mm dia. sharp edged orifice and pressure tapping.
(ii) A droplet arrester.
(iii) A water distributor.
INSTRUMENTATION:
Variable Area 0 to 50gm s ֿ ◌¹, with control valve, for water flow rate to packings
Flow Meter
Cooling Range The difference between the water temperature at entry to and exit from the tower.
Cooling Load The rate at which heat is removed from the water. This may be expressed in kW, Btu/h or k Cal/h.
Make-Up The quantity of fresh water which must be supplied to the water circuit to make good the losses due
to evaporation and other causes.
Drift or Carry Droplets of water which are entrained by the air stream leaving the tower.
Over
Packing or Fill The material over which the water flows as it falls through the tower, so that
a large surface area is presented to the air stream.
Approach to The difference between the temperature of the water leaving the tower and
Wet Bulb the wet bulb temperature of the air entering.
Basic Principles
Consider the surface of a warm water droplet or film in contact with an air stream.
Assuming that the water is hotter than the air, it will be cooled:
1. By radiation- This effect is likely to be very small at normal conditions and may be neglected.
2. By conduction and convection - This will depend on the temperature difference, the surface area, air
velocity, etc.
3. By evaporation- This is by far the most important effect. Cooling takes place as molecules of H2O diffuse
from the surface into the surrounding air. These molecules are then replaced by others from the liquid
(evaporation) and the energy required for this is taken from the remaining liquid.
The Bench Top Cooling Tower should be prepared, started and allowed to stabilize under the following suggested
conditions:
(Note: Stability is reached when there is no further appreciable change in temperature, or flow rate).
At regular intervals over a measured period of say 10 minutes, all temperatures and flow rates should be noted and the
mean values entered on the observation sheet.
At the commencement of this period, fill the make-up tank to the gauge mark with distilled water. At the end of this
period, refill the tank from a known quantity of distilled water in a measuring cylinder. By difference, determine the
quantity of make up which has been supplied in the time interval.
While keeping the water and air flows constant, the load should be increased to 0.5 kW, and when conditions have
stabilised, the observations should be repeated.
Similar tests should be made with cooling loads of 1.0 and 1.5 kW.
OBSERVATION SHEET
Atmospheric Pressure :
Orifice Differential ‘x’ mm of H2O :
Water Flow Rate m w g/s :
Make-up Water Temperature t7°C :
Packing Installed :
Packing Density m ֿ ◌¹:
TEST NO. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Air Inlet Dry Bulb
t1°C
Air Inlet Wet Bulb
t2°C
Air Outlet Dry Bulb
t3°C
Air Outlet Wet Bulb
t4°C
Water Inlet
Temperature t5°C
Water Outlet
Temperature t6°C
Cooling Load Q kW 0 0 0 0.5 0.5 1 1.5
Make-up Quantity mE
kg
Time Interval y s 0 10 10
Using the wet and dry bulb temperatures, points A and B may be plotted on the psychrometric chart, and the
following values read off:
hA= /kg
hB= /kg
ωB= /kg
υaB= m3/kg of dry air
x
0.0137
m
a (1B ) vaB
m E = m E / y
hE =
Applying the Steady Flow Equation to the system indicated by the Boundary
Q – P = ΔH + ΔKE
Q – P = 1.0 – (–0.01) kW
= 1.1 kW
m a hB m a hA m E hE
m a ( hB hA ) m E hE
Mass Balance
m E m steamB m steamA
m a ( B A )
Calculations for ‘Approach to Wet Bulb’ and ‘Cooling Range’:
The pump transfers approximately 100W to the water, and this should be added to the load imposed in the load tank.
Cooling Range = t5 – t6
Graph:
Conclusion: